Erasmus, "Apes of Cicero," and Conceptual BlendingGouwens, Kenneth.
2010 Journal of the History of Ideas
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In <i>The Ciceronian</i>, Erasmus ridiculed as "apes" humanists who imitated Cicero superficially. Methods developed in cognitive literary theory provide a framework for understanding that these simian metaphors are not just ornamental: they are integral to the dialogue's meaning, helping to configure the connections that it draws between literary style and paganism. Metaphorical blending in the <i>Ciceronianus</i> takes on added significance when read alongside the <i>Adages</i>, in which Erasmus glossed classical sayings about monkeys to comment on simian and human nature. The blending of conceptual metaphors both within and between these texts is itself the process by which new meanings emerge.
Erasmus, "Apes of Cicero," and Conceptual BlendingGouwens, Kenneth.
2010 Journal of the History of Ideas
doi:
Abstract: In The Ciceronian , Erasmus ridiculed as "apes" humanists who imitated Cicero superficially. Methods developed in cognitive literary theory provide a framework for understanding that these simian metaphors are not just ornamental: they are integral to the dialogue's meaning, helping to configure the connections that it draws between literary style and paganism. Metaphorical blending in the Ciceronianus takes on added significance when read alongside the Adages , in which Erasmus glossed classical sayings about monkeys to comment on simian and human nature. The blending of conceptual metaphors both within and between these texts is itself the process by which new meanings emerge.
The Message of Bayle's Last Title: Providence and Toleration in the Entretiens de Maxime et de ThémisteHickson, Michael W.
2010 Journal of the History of Ideas
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In this paper I uncover the identities of the interlocutors of Pierre Bayle's <i>Entretiens de Maxime et de Themiste</i>, and I show the significance of these identities for a proper understanding of the <i>Entretiens</i> and of Bayle's thought more generally. Maxime and Themiste represent the philosophers of late antiquity, Maximus of Tyre and Themistius. Bayle brought these philosophers into dialogue in order to suggest that the problem of evil, though insoluble by means of speculative reason, could be dissolved and thus avoided through mutual toleration. I conclude by comparing Bayle's "theodicy of toleration" with Kant's notion of authentic theodicy.
The Message of Bayle's Last Title: Providence and Toleration in the Entretiens de Maxime et de ThémisteHickson, Michael W.
2010 Journal of the History of Ideas
doi:
Abstract: In this paper I uncover the identities of the interlocutors of Pierre Bayle's Entretiens de Maxime et de Themiste , and I show the significance of these identities for a proper understanding of the Entretiens and of Bayle's thought more generally. Maxime and Themiste represent the philosophers of late antiquity, Maximus of Tyre and Themistius. Bayle brought these philosophers into dialogue in order to suggest that the problem of evil, though insoluble by means of speculative reason, could be dissolved and thus avoided through mutual toleration. I conclude by comparing Bayle's "theodicy of toleration" with Kant's notion of authentic theodicy.
The Reluctant Pirate: Godwin, Justice, and PropertyPierson, Christopher.
2010 Journal of the History of Ideas
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Abstract: In its brief, yet dramatic, moment in time (in Britain in the 1790s), William Godwin's Enquiry Concerning Political Justice enjoyed considerable fame and, indeed, notoriety. While probably best remembered now for its utopian and anarchistic moments, as well as its anticipations of utilitarianism, for a "radical" text Political Justice draws some at first sight puzzlingly conservative political conclusions. In this paper, I explore this apparent conservatism through Godwin's paradoxical views on property, arguing that in the end, and perhaps under the duress of an increasingly polarized political climate, he was unable to reconcile his politics with his philosophy.
The Reluctant Pirate: Godwin, Justice, and PropertyPierson, Christopher.
2010 Journal of the History of Ideas
doi:
In its brief, yet dramatic, moment in time (in Britain in the 1790s), William Godwin's <i>Enquiry Concerning Political Justice</i> enjoyed considerable fame and, indeed, notoriety. While probably best remembered now for its utopian and anarchistic moments, as well as its anticipations of utilitarianism, for a "radical" text <i>Political Justice</i> draws some at first sight puzzlingly conservative political conclusions. In this paper, I explore this apparent conservatism through Godwin's paradoxical views on property, arguing that in the end, and perhaps under the duress of an increasingly polarized political climate, he was unable to reconcile his politics with his philosophy.
Strauss's Life of Jesus: Publication and the Politics of the German Public SphereLinstrum, Erik.
2010 Journal of the History of Ideas
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The furor which greeted David Friedrich Strauss's <i>The Life of Jesus</i> upon its publication in 1835 has always been something of a mystery. This essay argues that the ferocity of the reaction can be traced to the contravention of a widely shared expectation in nineteenth-century Germany that theological scholarship would and should be read exclusively by theologians. The reception of the book in the 1830s and subsequent decades shows that this expectation increasingly conflicted with the liberal vision of a public sphere governed by universal reason. By the end of the century, the formerly controversial Strauss had become a venerated figure in Germany, which suggests the extent to which the liberal vision of the public sphere ultimately triumphed.
Strauss's Life of Jesus : Publication and the Politics of the German Public SphereLinstrum, Erik.
2010 Journal of the History of Ideas
doi:
Abstract: The furor which greeted David Friedrich Strauss's The Life of Jesus upon its publication in 1835 has always been something of a mystery. This essay argues that the ferocity of the reaction can be traced to the contravention of a widely shared expectation in nineteenth-century Germany that theological scholarship would and should be read exclusively by theologians. The reception of the book in the 1830s and subsequent decades shows that this expectation increasingly conflicted with the liberal vision of a public sphere governed by universal reason. By the end of the century, the formerly controversial Strauss had become a venerated figure in Germany, which suggests the extent to which the liberal vision of the public sphere ultimately triumphed.
Faith and Value: Heinrich Rickert's Theory of ReligionCrowe, Benjamin D.,
2010 Journal of the History of Ideas
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Scholars have recently begun to revisit the important contributions of Heinrich Rickert (1863-1936), a leader of the "Baden" school of Neo-Kantianism. The aim of this essay is to contribute to this trend by examining Rickert's largely overlooked theory of religion. The systematic motives and development of Rickert's account are treated in detail. These motives are then shown to ultimately force a step beyond science and reason into the sphere of symbolism and metaphysics.
Faith and Value: Heinrich Rickert's Theory of ReligionCrowe, Benjamin D.
2010 Journal of the History of Ideas
doi:
Abstract: Scholars have recently begun to revisit the important contributions of Heinrich Rickert (1863-1936), a leader of the "Baden" school of Neo-Kantianism. The aim of this essay is to contribute to this trend by examining Rickert's largely overlooked theory of religion. The systematic motives and development of Rickert's account are treated in detail. These motives are then shown to ultimately force a step beyond science and reason into the sphere of symbolism and metaphysics.
A "Third way" Catholic Intellectual: Charles Du Bos, Tragedy, and Ethics in Interwar ParisDavies, Katherine Jane.
2010 Journal of the History of Ideas
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This article explores how the intellectual and spiritual sensibilities of the French Catholic literary critic, Charles Du Bos (1882-1939), provide an insight into the construction of a particular "third-way" Catholic intellectual form of engagement during the interwar period. It is argued that the intellectual disposition underpinning Du Bos's third way rests fundamentally upon an accommodation of the "tragic." The evolving concept of tragedy in Du Bos's life and thought, before his conversion to Catholicism and beyond, facilitates his embrace of an "ethic of responsibility," which is deployed in his third-way politico-ethical position on the Munich crisis of 1938.
A "Third way" Catholic Intellectual: Charles Du Bos, Tragedy, and Ethics in Interwar ParisDavies, Katherine Jane.
2010 Journal of the History of Ideas
doi:
Abstract: This article explores how the intellectual and spiritual sensibilities of the French Catholic literary critic, Charles Du Bos (1882-1939), provide an insight into the construction of a particular "third-way" Catholic intellectual form of engagement during the interwar period. It is argued that the intellectual disposition underpinning Du Bos's third way rests fundamentally upon an accommodation of the "tragic." The evolving concept of tragedy in Du Bos's life and thought, before his conversion to Catholicism and beyond, facilitates his embrace of an "ethic of responsibility," which is deployed in his third-way politico-ethical position on the Munich crisis of 1938.
Johann Gottfried Herder Revisited: The Revolution in Scholarship in the Last Quarter CenturyZammito, John H.
2010 Journal of the History of Ideas
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Abstract: A veritable tidal shift in Herder scholarship has taken place over the last quarter century, primarily but not exclusively in German. This review essay seeks to evoke the richness and vitality of this revival with the hope of persuading American academics that some ill-founded opinions still circulating concerning Herder's "irrationalism" and chauvinistic, even racist nationalism, and his philosophical naivety and literary effrontery, might at last be put to rest. The recent revival has brough sharply to the fore two crucial aspects of Herder. First, there is the contribution of Herder's thought to the emergent cultural and social sciences. Second, for Herder the "science of man" was also a natural science: the division between the humanities and the natural sciences that has been such a hallmark of the age from Kant until very recently did not exist for Herder.
Johann Gottfried Herder Revisited: The Revolution in Scholarship in the Last Quarter CenturyZammito, John H., --; Menges, Karl.; Menze, Ernest A.
2010 Journal of the History of Ideas
doi:
A veritable tidal shift in Herder scholarship has taken place over the last quarter century, primarily but not exclusively in German. This review essay seeks to evoke the richness and vitality of this revival with the hope of persuading American academics that some ill-founded opinions still circulating concerning Herder's "irrationalism" and chauvinistic, even racist nationalism, and his philosophical naivety and literary effrontery, might at last be put to rest. The recent revival has brough sharply to the fore two crucial aspects of Herder. First, there is the contribution of Herder's thought to the emergent cultural and social sciences. Second, for Herder the "science of man" was also a natural science: the division between the humanities and the natural sciences that has been such a hallmark of the age from Kant until very recently did not exist for Herder.
Notices2010 Journal of the History of Ideas
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Abstract: Announcement of the Morris D. Forkosch book prize competition; announcement of the Selma V. Forkosch prize for the best article published in the Journal of the History of Ideas .
Notices2010 Journal of the History of Ideas
doi:
Announcement of the Morris D. Forkosch book prize competition; announcement of the Selma V. Forkosch prize for the best article published in the <i>Journal of the History of Ideas</i>.